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The toplane in League of Legends is a crucial position on the map, as it is responsible for setting the pace and tempo of the game. The toplaner is typically a tank or a fighter, and their job is to soak up damage and protect their team's carries. They also need to be able to farm effectively and push the enemy's tower, which can be difficult as they are often isolated in the toplane.
Overall, it is a complex but important role in League of Legends and requires a strong understanding of the game, a high level of skill, mental composure to be able to play weakside/strongside, and patience.
Those who excel in the toplane of League of Legends end up having a major impact on the outcome of the game and are a valuable asset to their team by truly creating the "top gap."
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Since League of Legends Season 13 commenced on January 10, 2023, this list will cover the five best toplane champions in the game at present.
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Disclaimer: The list is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.
Fiora, Illaoi, and 3 other toplane champions who are the best that League of Legends Season 13 has to offer
1) Fiora
One of the most popular and disliked champions on the toplane of League of Legends, Fiora is the champion with whom we start this list.
She is arguably one of the most overpowered toplane champions in the game on paper, and comes with strong scaling. However, the nerfs targeting her in the League of Legends patch 13.1 have left a noticeable dent in her playstyle.
Fiora is still a strong pick due to her sheer dueling and her ability to take down enemy champions. Players are, however, advised that she can be vulnerable to crowd control and team fight-oriented compositions, since she has a high skill ceiling for an average toplane champion in League of Legends.
Runes
Primary Rune (Resolve)
Grasp of the Undying - Demolish - Second Wind - Unflinching
Secondary Rune (Sorcery)
Manaflow Band - Scorch
Resolve as the primary rune, coupled with Sorcery as the secondary, is best advised as it ensures consistent short trades. These will enable Fiora to get through her difficult early game, along with scaling HP with it to toplane in League of Legends.
Her Q (Lung) with a Grasp proc when hits the target, ends up doing a good chunk of damage in the laning phase, which results in better trades for Fiora.
The reason for taking Sorcery as the secondary rune is because it allows access to Manaflow Band, which is important to sustain mana. Scorch is helpful in doing burn damage and enhancing her short trades during the laning phase in the toplane in League of Legends.
In certain League of Legends matchups where there are numerous tanky/beefy champions with HP stacking, taking the Conqueror rune path is recommended.
Primary Rune (Precision)
Conqueror - Triumph - Legend Alacrity - Last Stand
Secondary Rune (Resolve)
Bone Plating - Unflinching
Whilst the Conqueror rune path as a primary is now only recommended in certain matches and enemy team-comp scenarios, taking it does ensure a better long-trade power as it allows good damage and mana sustain.
The Resolve rune path as a secondary gives access to Bone Plating and Unflinching, and is thus very valuable in 1v1's in toplane in League of Legends
Itemization
Itemization on Fiora is quite straightforward. Her goal should be to get to her three-item power spike, which is Divine Sunder > Ravenous Hydra > Spear of Shojin. For certain matchups and game scenarios where offensive sustain is required, feel free to opt for Death's Dance as the third purchase.
- Divine Sunderer
- Plated Steelcaps
- Ravenous Hydra (Core Legendary)
- Spear of Shojin (Powerspike Item)
- Death's Dance
- Maw of Malmortius
2) Illaoi
Illaoi manages to stand strong as one of the best meta-champions in a meta where melee bruisers and tanks are bound to dominate the Summoner's Rift in League of Legends toplane.
She is one of the ideal picks when the opponent is a melee bruiser/tank. Illaoi can confidently let champions walk into her melee range and do a good amount of sustained damage thanks to her E (Test of Spirit).
Illaoi's W (Harsh Lesson), which deals damage based on the target's maximum health, and E (Test of Spirit), which summons a tentacle to fight for her, are two of her crucial abilities. On top of that, she also has a powerful ultimate, R (Leap of Faith), that allows her to dash to an enemy champion and deal damage to them.
Players should, however, consider Illaoi to be a formidable opponent in League of Legends. She necessitates skill and knowledge to play effectively as her E (Test of Spirit) is arguably her most important skill shot.
Overall, Illaoi is a very strong duelist with insane damage and tankiness, as the League of Legends Season 13 build for Illaoi includes a couple of tank items. Given the meta-toplane champions such as Mundo, Darius, Maokai, Mordekaiser, and others, Illaoi is a sleeper pick on toplane that players should definitely try.
Runes
When it comes to runes, Illaoi does possess quite a few options depending on the enemy team's composition and the lane matchup. Taking the Conqueror as the primary rune along with Resolve as her secondary is recommended in matchups where there are two or more mele champions in the enemy team with whom long-trade is almost a guarantee.
Taking this rune set will ensure good damage + sustain throughout the game, along with the ability to take towers faster, with the help of Demolish.
Primary Rune (Precision)
Conqueror - Presence of Mind - Legend Tenacity - Last Stand
Secondary Rune (Resolve)
Demolish - Bone Plating
In fairly difficult matches where the enemy toplaner or team consists of only one melee champion or none, it is highly advised to go for the Grasp of the Undying rune set. This is due to Illaoi being countered by high-moblity and ranged champions in League of Legends who force short trades against her.
Taking this rune set will ensure sustainability and draining capabilities as the Grasp proc along with Illaoi's W does good damage during the laning phase in League of Legends' toplane.
Primary Rune (Resolve)
Grasp of the Undying - Demolish - Second Wind - Overgrowth
Secondary Rune (Precision)
Presence of Mind - Last Stand
The last optimal rune choice for Illaoi is only suggested for League of Legends players who have a decent amount of experience with the champion. The First Strike set is more of an aggressive choice and needs a good amount of experience before trying on Ranked.
It is recommended to go with this rune set in matches where no more than one champion is melee. The First Strike is an adequate alternative to the Grasp of the Undying rune set.
The First Strike passive combined with Illaoi's Q (Tentacle Smash) provides a good poke to the enemy, along with giving gold to the player. On top of that, the Inspiration rune tree gives access to Magical Footwear and Future's Market, which allow her to reach her item power spike faster.
Primary Rune (Inspiration)
First Strike - Magical Footwear - Future's Market - Cosmic Insight
Secondary Rune (Precision)
Presence of Mind - Last Stand
Itemization
Illaoi's itemization has a vast amount of variation as she can customize her build path depending on the enemy composition. That being said, her build mostly consists of items that allow her to either do more damage (attack damage items) or make her a tanky champion (resistance items) in League of Legends' toplane.
Standard build -
- Iceborn Gauntlet
- Plated Steelcaps
- Black Cleaver
- Sterak's Gage (Death's Dance third if against AD heavy team composition)
- Spear of Shojin
- Death's Dance
When against Tanks/HP-stacking bruisers -
- Divine Sunderer
- Plated Steelcaps (Opt for Ionion Boots of Lucidity if enemy team composition consists of mixed damage)
- Black Cleaver
- Spear of Shojin
- Spirit Visage
- Gargoyle Stoneplate
When against ranged champions -
- Iceborn Gauntlet
- Ionion Boots of Lucidity/ Boots of Swiftness
- Hullbreaker
- Black Cleaver
- Force of Nature
- Gargoyle Stoneplate
3) Warwick
Up next on our list is Warwick, as for some reason, even after a couple of seasons, he still manages to be one of the best double-flex picks. He's arguably one of the top duelists in League of Legends' toplane as he is quite easily one of the best slept-on champions who has good sustained damage along with outrageous healing.
His Q (Jaws of the Beast) provides an outrageous amount of healing, and does maximum health and magic damage as well. When combined with his W (Blood Hunt) Warwick gains 35-55% movement speed, and 70-110% attack speed against enemies. This ends up making him one of the scariest duelists in League of Legends, one that even a champion like Fiora can struggle to manage at times.
Overall, Warwick is one of the best duelists in League of Legends, and has a fun and simple kit that players will enjoy dominating the Summoner's Rift with.
Runes
Warwick's go-to rune path for the toplane is Lethal Tempo as the primary, coupled with Resolve as the secondary. This combination provides the best value to a League of Legends champion like him as he scales well with bonus attack speed.
When fully stacked, Lethal Tempo provides 60-90% attack speed, which can stack up to six times, along with enabling the ability to have an attack speed above 2.5 and 50 attack range. This makes him one of the best beneficiaries of this rune in League of Legends.
Primary Rune (Precision)
Lethal Tempo - Presence of Mind - Legend Alacrity- Last Stand
Secondary Rune (Resolve)
Second Wind - Revitalize
Itemization
Warwick's build path for toplane typically varies depending on what the enemy top-composition and current game state demand from a League of Legends player. He possesses the ability to successfully run either damage-centric or tank-centric builds.
Players are advised to study situations where they are required to build damage to be one of the carries or either tank/resistance. In such roles, they will be required to act more on the frontlines and provide peeling for the real carries of the team.
Damage-centric build -
- Blade of The Ruined King (Core Item for toplane Warwick)
- Plated Steelcaps
- Jak'Sho, The Protean (Build Iceborn Gauntlet when against heavy AD (Attack Damage) team compositions)
- Ravenous Hydra
- Sunfire Aegis
- Spirit Visage
Tank-centric build -
- Blade of The Ruined King
- Plated Steelcaps
- Jak'Sho, The Protean
- Titanic Hydra
- Sunfire Aegis
- Thornmail
4) Shen
The fourth addition to our list is the consistently reliant toplane champion in League of Legends, Shen. He has managed to be consistent in the meta over the past couple of seasons. He is arguably one of the best champions, if not the best, if the goal is to play for the team and create influence around the entire map.
If a player's goal is to play for the team/carries and be a strong peeling champion, then Shen is arguably one of the best picks in League of Legends. This is because he provides good crowd control, strong objective control, and has a durable nature, which makes him a great neutralizer and a powerful addition to any team.
With his ultimate R (Stand United), Shen has the capability to be a good side-lane champion in League of Legends as he can always join his teammates for crucial fights. That being said, it is advised not to cast directly in front of an enemy who can cast a stun while the ultimate is underway.
Runes
Shen's rune set is pretty standard as he enjoys taking Grasp of the Undying as the primary, which allows him to go for short trades with the enemy.
Primary Rune (Resolve)
Grasp of the Undying - Shield Bash - Second Wind - Revitalize
Secondary Rune (Domination)
Cheap Shot - Ultimate Hunter
Itemization
Itemization for Shen is very standard. He usually runs the same items in most scenarios, which enables him to out-do the enemy toplaner.
- Heartsteel
- Plated Steelcaps
- Sunfire Aegis (Opt for Titanic Hydra as the second item if in need of damage+spliting power)
- Thornmail
- Titanic Hydra
- Force of Nature
5) Mordekaiser
We will end this list with one of the most infamous champions of the toplane, Mordekaiser. He is one of the most blind-pickable picks on top as there are only a few choices that can outplay his broken kit.
Mordekaiser can very easily be a top contender for one of the best champions in League of Legends Season 13, thanks to his broken passive and his current best mythic, Jak'Sho, The Protean that allows him god-like sustain and durability.
Mordekaiser is one of the few picks in League of Legends that excel in a lot of things. His passive grants him bonus damage. Meanwhile, his W (Indestructible) is a shield that can absorb damage and heal him, and his R (Real of Death) is the ultimate that allows him to take the enemy champion to Death Real and steal their stats, isolating them.
All this allows Mordekaiser to be one of the best toplane champions that can excel in 1v1's and teamfights in Season 13.
Runes
Runes on Mordekaiser are pretty standard as he is one of the best beneficiaries of Conqueror as his primary along with Resolve as secondary. These provide amazing damage along with great sustainability.
Primary Rune (Precision)
Conqueror - Triumph - Legend Tenacity - Last Stand
Secondary Rune (Resolve)
Bone Plating - Revitalize
Itemization
One of the best things about Mordekaiser is that he is one of the champions that have a standard build and allow players to focus on the game and not make rash decisions when it comes to itemizing.
- Rylai's Crystal Sceptor
- Plated Steelcaps
- Jak'Sho, The Protean (Core Mythic Item)
- Demonic Embrace (Powerspike Item)
- Zhonya's Hourglass
- Spirit Visage
This tops off our list of the best toplane champions that players can try right away in League of Legends Season 13. While they may be impacted with a future update, they are the top picks that players can go for in the current scene.
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